Aspartame (pronounced as-par-TAME) is an interesting chemical compound. When it exceeds 86° E, the wood alcohol within it converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid. The formic acid causes metabolic acidosis.

Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants. If you think it is safe for you, try sitting on a fire ant nest for awhile.

The metabolic acidosis produces a methanol toxicity which mimics multiple sclerosis. People are being diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis, when they really have aspartame poisoning. Methanol toxicity can also produce the symptoms of systemic lupus.

Aspartame is a brand name, marked by that corporate giant, Monsanto, under the names NutraSweet, Equal, and Spoonful.

People most likely to contract this strange condition, which appears like systemic lupus, are those who drink three to four 12 oz. cans daily of Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi.

Of course, people who are developing symptoms of systemic lupus do not suspect that it is being caused by their soft drinks, so they continue drinking them. But this continues to worsen their condition.

Occasionally, someone stops his diet of sugarless sweeteners; but it is too late. The systemic lupus has become symptomatic; and it cannot be reversed.

However, those diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (which in reality is methanol toxicity) fare better. if they stop ingesting artificial sweeteners, most of the symptoms will disappear. In some instances, their vision and even their hearing-may return. Sometimes the tinnitus (ringing in the ears) also subsides.

Dr. Markle says, "If you are using aspartame and you suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain, depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss-you probably have aspartame disease!"

She continues: "Some of the [health] speakers at my lecture were even suffering from these symptoms! In one lecture attended by the ambassador of Uganda, he told us that their sugar industry is adding aspartame. He continued, by saying that one of the industry leader’s son could no longer walk--due in part to product usage."

We all know that too much sugar is not good for us. But we must also watch out for the fake sugar as well. It is far more deadly.

At the time that aspartame came onto the market, enough danger was recognized at the US. Congressional held hearings. But they petered out the drug and chemical manufacturers have powerful lobbies in Washington, D.C. Whenever needed, they are able to buy votes.

Yet one of the reasons those congressional investigations began was due to the fact that people were going blind from drinking aspartame products. The methanol in the aspartame converts to formaldehyde in the retina of the eye. As for formaldehyde, chemists place it in the same class of drugs with cyanide and arsenic. All three are deadly poisons.

Once on the market, aspartame quickly appeared in over a hundred different products. But today it is in over five hundred food products! It seems as if every food manufacturer is putting it in their foods. The objective is to make things taste sweeter, without spending money on real sugar, which is more expensive.

People imagine that, by using it, they are reducing their caloric intake and keeping their weight down. In reality, they are slowly ruining their brains and nervous systems.

Markle comments: "We have a very serious problem. Even a stranger came up to Dr. Espisto, one of my speakers, and myself and said, 'Could you tell me why so many people seem to be coming down with MS [multiple sclerosis]? Later, during a visit to a hospice, a nurse said that six of her friends, who were all heavy Diet Coke addicts, had all been diagnosed with MS. This is beyond coincidence."

Diabetics think aspartame is a wonderful solution to their sugar problems. Instead of sugar, they think they can just eat "sugar-free" foods and drinks. But aspartame really hurts diabetics.

Markle again: "All physicians know what wood alcohol will do to a diabetic. We find that physicians believe that they have patients with retinopathy, when in fact, it is caused by the aspartame. The aspartame keeps the blood sugar level out of control, causing many patients to go into a coma. Unfortunately, many have died."

While at a conference of the American College of Physicians, Markle learned this: "People were telling us they had relatives that switched from saccharin to an aspartame product and how these relatives had eventually gone into a coma. Their physicians could not get the blood sugar levels under control. The patients suffered acute memory loss and eventually coma and death."

Doesn’t sound very pleasant, does it? All this misery, for the love of unnatural sweets which have no sugar.

Aspartame changes the brains chemistry and can produce seizures. It also changes the dopamine level in the brain. Commenting on those facts, Markle says: "Imagine what this drug does to patients! It also causes birth defects. There is absolutely no reason to take this product. It is not a diet product! The Congressional Record said, 'It makes you crave carbohydrates and will make you fat!' Dr. Roberts stated that when he got patients off aspartame, their average weight loss was 19 pounds per person. The formaldehyde stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs."

Dr. Markle then provides us with more information on how aspartame destroys the nerves. There is an excess of certain chemicals and not enough available protein to bind them.

Memory loss is due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are neurotoxic without the other amino acids bound in protein. Thus it goes past the blood brain barrier and deteriorates the neurons of the brain.

These chemicals are classified, with certain others, as "excitotoxins." It is like pushing the gas pedal to the floor and holding it there. In a car, a cylinder might blow; in the body, nerves die from exhaustion.

Markle again: "Dr. Russell Blaylock, neurosurgeon, said, 'The ingredients stimulate the neurons of the brain to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees.' Dr. Blaylock has written a book entitled, Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills." [A phone number is included here: 800-643-2665.1

Aspartame goes to nerve cells like a bee to honey. It destroys those nerve cells. Markle elaborates:

"Dr. Roberts says 'Consuming aspartame at the time of conception can cause birth defects: The phenylalanine concentrates in the placenta, thus causing mental retardation, according to Dr. Louis Elasas, pediatrician professor of genetics at Emory University, in his testimony before Congress.

"In the original lab tests, animals developed brain tumors. [This is because] phenylalanine breaks down into DXP, a brain tumor agent. When Dr. Espisto was lecturing on aspartame, one physician in the audience, a neurosurgeon, said, 'When they remove brain tumors, they have found high levels of aspartame in them.'"

What a significant fact! Still interested in eating and drinking those strange foods which have zero calories? Markle says: "If it says SUGAR FREE on the label, DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!"

Because of their loyalty to Monsanto, for years, the Food and Drug Administration refused to permit the sale of Stevia. "Stevia, a sweet food, not an additive, which helps in the metabolism of sugar, could be ideal for diabetics, and has now been approved as a dietary supplement by the FDA."

Repeatedly, efforts to ban aspartame-or at least officially warn the public about it have been lobbied to death on Capitol Hill. "Senator Howard Metzenbaum wrote a bill that would have warned all infants, pregnant mothers, and children of the dangers of aspartame. The bill would have also instituted independent studies on the problems existing in the population (seizures, changes in brain chemistry, changes in neurological and behavioral symptoms). It was killed by the powerful drug and chemical lobbies, letting loose the hounds of disease on an unsuspecting public."

One again, she pleads that you warn others. "Since the Conference of the American College of Physicians, we hope to have the help of some world leaders. Again, please help us. There are a lot of people out there who must be warned. Please let them know this information!"

What is the answer? It is simple enough. Do not eat anything that contains artificial, synthetic, chemical additives. That includes all liquids, all baked goods, all processed food, all canned goods. Look on the label; what does it say? Start thinking for a change. What you put in your body today can destroy you later. Only eat old-fashioned, good food. Go outside and dig up some soil; and plant a garden, to help supplement your larder. Buy a wheat grinder and a dough maker; and make your own bread. Take vitamins and minerals to satiate your hidden hungers, so you do not need so much food. Learn to eat less. Cut out all the grease and hydrogenated oils. Stop eating meat; it is another killer.

Several different chemical compounds are classed as excitotoxins. They all damage the nerves. These include aspartame, monosodium glutamate, caffeine, arachidonic acid, and certain others. Street drugs have this effect also.

Avoid aspartame in foods and drinks. Have nothing to do with MSG (monosodium glutamate). Do not use caffeine in any form.

In order to avoid arachidonic acid, only use pure olive oil, wheat germ oil, or flaxseed oil. Flaxseed oil is best; for it has the highest ratio of linolenic acid to arachidonic acid.

Aspartame is marketed under several brand names, including: NutraSweet / Equal / Spoonful.

Monosodium glutamate / Hydrolyzed vegetable protein / Hydrolyzed protein / Hydrolyzed plant protein / Plant protein extract / Sodium caseinate / Calcium caseinate /Yeast extract/ Textured protein / Autolyzed yeast / Hydrolyzed oat flour / Accent.

Here are additives that frequently contain MSG (some containing 12% to 40% MSG):

Malt extract / Malt flavoring / Bouillon / Broth / Stock / Flavoring / Natural flavoring / Natural beef or chicken flavoring / Seasoning / Spices / Carrageenan / Enzymes / Soy protein concentrate / Soy protein isolate / Whey protein concentrate / Some types of soy milk.

Aspartame is the brand name for a sugarless sweetener that is in NutraSweet, Equal, and certain other artificial sweetener products, produced by G. D. Searle Co. which owned the original patent on it.

For 16 years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied approval of aspartame because of compelling evidence that it contributed to brain tumors and other serious disabilities.

In 1981, Donald Rumsfeld (at the present time Secretary of Defense in the Bush administration) left President Ford's administration as Chief of Staff to become the CEO of G. D. Searle Co. Shortly after he became CEO, and the day after Reagan took office as president, aspartame was quickly approved by the then FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hayes, over the objections of the FDA’s Public Board of Inquiry. Hayes had just been appointed head of the FDA.

Soon after aspartame was approved, Hayes resigned from the FDA and joined NutraSweet’s public relations firm under a ten-year contract at $1,000 a day. (Multiply $1,000 x 365 x 10 and see what you get.)

On September 15, 2004, a $350 million class action RICO (racketeering) lawsuit was filed in United States District Court in San Francisco, against the NutraSweet Corporation (current owner of aspartame products), American Diabetes Association, Dr. Robert H. Mosey, and John Does 1-50 [50 other people not immediately named in the suit]. It is Case No. C04 3872.

Plaintiffs maintain that this litigation will prove how deadly the chemical sweetener aspartame is, when it consumed by humans.

According to the explosive charges in the press release issued along with this RICO lawsuit, the Searle Company is accused of eliminating all the original evidence showing aspartame to be dangerous:

"On or about September 8, 2004, an affidavit was signed describing the Initial third world studies and the health hazards of aspartame. These studies conducted in 1983/84 by the J.D. Searle Company were translated to English from Spanish by a translator in 1984.

"The 'double blind' studies showed conclusive evidence that aspartame caused severe health problems and even death to the exposed study group. According to the affidavit, the doctor directing the studies has been missing since the approval of aspartame in 1984.

"The affidavit also describes how the affiant was directed by J.D. Searle officials to destroy all records of the studies--including filed notes and/or translations possessed by the affiant. [An "affiant" is the person making an affidavit.]

"The affiant describes in detail how the translations were forwarded upon completion to J.D. Searle corporate offices in Illinois."

Three other lawsuits were filed by the National Justice League on April 26, 2004, in three separate California courts.

There are 12 defendants in those suits, all of which produce or use the artificial sweetener, aspartame, as a sugar substitute in their products. You might be interested in knowing who they are:

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Bayer Corp., the Dannon Company, William Wrigley Jr. Company, Walmart, ConAgra Foods, Wyeth, Inc., the NutraSweet Company, and Altria Corp. (parent company of Kraft Foods and Philip Morris).

The above defendants are charged with engaging in unlawful acts of "knowingly and intentionally using the neurotoxic aspartame as a sugar substitute in the manufacture of Equal, while knowing that exposure to aspartame causes, among other diseases/symptoms. .

"Abdominal pain, arthritis, asthma, brain cancer, breathing difficulties, burning eyes or throat, burning urination, chest pains, chronic cough, chronic fatigue, death, depression, diarrhea, headaches / migraines, hearing loss, heart palpitations, hives (urticaria), hypertension, impotency and sexual problems, memory loss, menstrual problems or changes, nausea or vomiting, slurring of speech, tremors, tinnitus, vertigo and / or vision loss.

"Further, aspartame disease mimics symptoms or worsens the following diseases: fibromyalgia, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, lupus, diabetes and diabetic complications, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, birth defects, chronic fatigue syndrome, lymphoma, Lyme disease, attention deficit disorder (ADD), panic disorder, depression and other psychological disorders."

The suit also charges that Searle included false research reports in its aspartame submissions to the FDA.

Defendants in this lawsuit vigorously maintain that aspartame is safe for consumption. At the present time, it is included in more than 5,000 food products and soft drinks sold in America.